Shikha Singla, MD, is an associate professor of medicine (rheumatology) at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Shikha Singla, MD

Following her presentation of a session titled. ‘Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis,’ Shikha Singla, MD, spoke in an interview with 

2025 Society of Dermatology Physician Associates (SDPA) Fall Conference

An associate professor of medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Singla participated in this talk as a co-presenter on this session regarding the overlap between treating 

 and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). In this segment of her interview, Singla highlighted the importance of screening for PsA every 6 months among patients with psoriasis.

How Often Should You Screen Patients with Psoriasis for PsA? With Sikha Singla, MD

How Often Should You Screen Patients with Psoriasis for PsA? With Shikha Singla, MD

“About 1/4 to 1/3 of psoriasis patients end up developing psoriatic arthritis, and it can take anywhere up to two to 10 years for patients to develop these diseases,” Singla explained. “It is so important for dermatologists to screen these patients for the development of joint disease. In fact, the National Psoriasis Foundation recommends screening psoriasis patients for psoriatic arthritis every six months, because it has been shown in studies that a delay of more than six months can lead to joint damage and affect the activities of daily living of our patients.”

Singla also discussed the need for collaboration between dermatologists and rheumatologists to prescribe the right medication, noting despite the various treatments available, about 50% of patients do not achieve a 70% improvement in their psoriatic disease symptoms.

“It is very important to have that collaboration with your dermatologist, with your rheumatologist, and to decide which is the most prominent feature that is bothering the patient so that the right medication can be prescribed for the patient,” Singa noted.

, Singla highlighted the importance of recognizing red flags such as obesity, trauma, and environmental triggers.

“We definitely need more education about the treatment, and also the question arises that, if there is no response to the medications, is that truly due to an inflammatory component, or non-inflammatory components are also contributing, such as associated arthritis, which is osteoarthritis or fibromyalgia, or other diseases that are contributing to patient symptoms,” Singla added.

View the video interview segment above for any further information. To find out more about topics such as these presented at SDPA, view the 

The quotes used in this video summary were edited for clarity.

Singla had no relevant financial disclosures to include.

Singla S, Gordon K. Psoriasis & Psoriatic Arthritis. Presented at the Society of Dermatology Physician Associates (SDPA) Fall Conference, November 5-9, San Antonio, TX.

Singla S. How to Differentiate Other Forms of Arthritis and Psoriatic Arthritis, With Shikha Singla, MD. HCPLive. November 7, 2025. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/how-to-differentiate-other-forms-arthritis-psoriatic-arthritis-sikha-singla-md

Videos

At the SDPA Fall Conference, Singla speaks in an interview regarding screening patients with psoriasis for psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

A session titled ‘Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis’ was presented at the 

Shikha Singla, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, was a co-presenter at this talk. Singla sat down with the 

 team at the SDPA meeting to discuss the takeaways from her talk on psoriasis and its overlap with 

How to Differentiate Other Forms of Arthritis and Psoriatic Arthritis, With Sikha Singla, MD

“Psoriatic arthritis is a multifaceted disease,” Singla expressed. “It involves a lot of domains. Skin is one of them, joints, and there are some other clinical manifestations as well, which are extra-musculoskeletal, such as IBD, which is Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and uveitis. The management of psoriatic arthritis is done in a multidisciplinary fashion. It is very important to have collaborations with the sub-specialties, such as your dermatologist, the gastroenterologist, and the ophthalmologist.”

Singla was asked about several different points highlighted in her session at SDPA, including her views on whether there is an adequate level of interdisciplinary collaboration between dermatologists and rheumatologists.

“No, I think there needs to be a lot more,” Singla said. “I hear that it is very difficult to get in touch with sub-specialties through consults or end referrals. It takes a long time. There's usually a long waiting list. In our clinic, it's interesting because a dermatologist goes and sees the patients first and screens them for psoriatic arthritis, and I'm sitting right there to see these patients. So there's no waiting list for the patients and and we also make decisions collaboratively.”

In her interview, Singla was also asked about ways to differentiate between different forms of arthritis and PsA. She noted her talk’s point on joint pains being caused by various conditions, such as fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

“Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common type of inflammatory arthritis in which patients develop polyarticular, bilateral, symmetrical joint pain and swelling, as compared to psoriatic arthritis, where you can have inflammation, that you can have a polyarticular symmetric joint involvement,” Singla explained. “But we often see involvement of oligoarticular joints. That means less than five joints…and there's axial involvement also seen in a few patients, as well as dactylitis, which is swelling of the whole digit. And we don’t see that in patients with rheumatoid arthritis that often.

View the above interview for any additional information. To learn more about topics like these presented at SDPA, view the 

The quotes implemented in this video summary were edited for clarity.

Pap T, Sunderkötter C. Psoriasis versus Psoriasisarthritis : Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede in der Pathophysiologie [Psoriasis vs. psoriatic arthritis : Similarities and differences in the pathophysiology]. Z Rheumatol. 2017 Aug;76(6):477-483. German. doi: 10.1007/s00393-017-0342-0. PMID: 28664285.


Explore the complexities of psoriatic arthritis, its symptoms, and the importance of multidisciplinary management for effective treatment.

Shikha Singla, MD

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